Sebastian Kurz takes helm of Austrian center-right ahead of poll

Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz was elected leader of the center-right Austrian People’s Party on Saturday, paving the way for his candidature as chancellor in October snap elections.

Kurz, who was already acting party leader since the former head Reinhold Mitterlehner stepped down in May, received 98.7 percent of the votes at a party convention in Linz. The delegates also approved changes to the party statute, which put more power in the party leader’s hands.

Austrians head to the polls on October 15 to elect a new parliament, which then picks the chancellor. The current grand coalition between the Social Democratic party of Chancellor Christian Kern and the People’s Party collapsed in May.

Kurz changed his party’s color from black to cyan, and with his own popularity ratings significantly exceeding the People’s Party’s, he has announced plans to campaign under a new name, the “Sebastian Kurz list.” This would also allow candidates from other parties to support him — a strategy that was used by Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche movement to gain power in France’s presidential and parliamentary elections this spring.

Only 30 and often described as the “Wunderkind” of Austrian politics, Kurz is shifting his party further to the right by promising to reduce social benefits for immigrants and to stop migration from Africa and the Middle East. He has also pledged to cut taxes and regulations, saying the state must be “slimmed down” and spend its money more effectively.

“Let’s stop sugarcoating things and say how they really are,” Kurz said at the convention, warning that Austria was at risk of falling back in comparison to other European countries, as both social spending and taxes were too high. “There are few countries in the world where the difference between gross and net salary is as high as in Austria,” he said.

On migration, Kurz argued that Europe had to learn from the experience of the 2015 refugee crisis, which only calmed down after the Balkan migration route was closed. “We know what needs to be done,” he said, as he vowed to increase the fight against human traffickers and stop alternative ways to illegally immigrate into the EU. “The Mediterranean Sea route must be closed, better today than tomorrow.”

Kurz also demanded a better integration of immigrants. “A society can only work if we have common basic values,” he told his fellow party members.

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Kerv

you cannot integrate people that do not want to be integrated

these is a category of people live for their religion, a religion that is against everything a democratic society stands for. The solution is to keep in Europe only those who swear to integrate and to kick out those who can;t or do not want to (even after 5 years)

Posted on 7/1/17 | 5:14 PM CEST

glasspix 1

I would be surprised if the Viennese political elite allowed Kurz to take any effective curbs on migration. They are part of an all powerful pan-European network that was able to put an obscure ultra-left Marxist in power during their presidential elections, and will not stop until Austria looks like Calais. As long as Merkel is in power in Germany, Austria will not be allowed to take a sharp turn back towards a genuine European value system based on national identity and Christian values.

Posted on 7/1/17 | 5:54 PM CEST

tony

glasspix

we went to Vienna for the first time just a few months ago. We loved the touristy bit but were shocked by the immigrant ghettoes that ringed part of it. There are apparently substantial clashes between groups on a regular basis with the kurds especially disliked by some of their fellow immigrants.

In the smaller towns in Austria where we generally go, there are few immigrants, so I guess they mostly congregate in the bigger cities.

Posted on 7/1/17 | 6:51 PM CEST

SkepticRealist

@Tony

Vienna is among the safest cities in the world, also in what you apparently consider to be “immigrant ghettoes”, which incidentially also happen to be often popular residential areas for students and young people as well.

Clashes between any groups are rare in fact and even areas with high numbers of immigrants are perfectly safe, also at night. So please stop the disinformation which seems to tell more about you than about Vienna.

Posted on 7/1/17 | 9:09 PM CEST

Tony

Skeptic realist

The day before we arrived the metro had been closed due to clashes. They are a relatively frequent occurence we were told by a variety of people.

I was ‘shocked’ because I had not expected to see the large numbers of immigrants in poor housing in a city like Vienna. I can not comment if the areas I mentioned, which are of course a relatively small part of a big city like Vienna, are popular with students and young people, the vast majority of people we saw were not indigenous but then again perhaps more of these students and young people might have been apparent on a different time or day?

Posted on 7/1/17 | 10:08 PM CEST

Tony

Skeptic realist

I did a reply to you which has. Vanished . Hopefully it may return.

These clashes are very well documented and relatively frequent. They seem to have escalated as a result of the failed erdogan coup last year and are combined with the rapid inflow of conservative immigrants the last couple of years as many did not go onto Germany.

. I am not saying vienna is not generally safe, just that there are areas you have to be cautious in.

Those same clashes, primarily between turks and kurds, seem to have occurred in bern and Frankfurt as well.

If there were not the tensions we observed as tourists for two days presumably Kurz would not be doing so well in a country that is very liberal in the big cities?

Posted on 7/1/17 | 10:23 PM CEST

al

@skeptic realist:
yes, Vienna still is relatively safe compared with some of the neighbourhoods in Paris, London, Berlin; however, I do remember a time when you could walk through just about any part of town without being hassled. That is no longer the case. As a longtime resident I can only concur with Tony that there are parts you don’t want to be caught in at certain times. Tension is almost palpable at times. And let’s not get started on the rapes that have happened since September ’15!
Sad times we are living through ….

Posted on 7/2/17 | 10:29 AM CEST

pivo

When will these kids, mind you some older people too, understand that you can’t run a country as a business ? Remember Haider ?

Posted on 7/2/17 | 5:28 PM CEST

Stanley Pawlowski

People don’t travel across the World to see Middle Eastern migrants, irrespective of how clean, friendly, and peaceful they are (which they are not). If Austria wants to destroy its tourist industry, then go ahead and import more migrants, so you can turn into Libya.